Capturing the world through photography, video and multimedia

A marathon runner carries Palestinian and Israeli flags as well as a white flag with a peace symbol as he enters the Zion Gate, after passing two Israeli border policemen during the Jerusalem Marathon. It is the second year the Jerusalem Marathon has been organized and the three events, a full marathon, a half marathon and a 10 kilometers run, attracted some 15,000 participants on a chilly and rainy day in Jerusalem.

Children of primary school De Speling in Lommel form a circle around a heart drawn with chalk during a minute of silence for the victims of the Tuesday bus crash near the town of Sierre in southern Switzerland. Twenty-eight people died in the accident, including 22 children from two schools of Lommel and Heverlee, returning to Belgium from a skiing holiday.

Pedestrians walk past the Milan Cathedral. Prime Minister Mario Monti's planned overhaul of the Italian labor market will include a revision of firing rules and an expansion of jobless benefits, according to a statement by the premier's office.

Freja Hinchliffe, 5, stands with her father, Major Jonathon Hinchliffe of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, after a church service in Warminster. The regiment earlier held a parade through Warminster Town centre, which was the unit's last public appearance before being deployed to Afghanistan.

An Afghan policemen looks at the wreckage from a crashed Turkish helicopter on the outskirts of Kabul. The Turkish military helicopter crashed into a house near the Afghan capital Friday, killing several Turkish soldiers on board and young girls on the ground, Turkish and Afghan officials said.

Extensive tornado damage occurred with initial estimates indicating the tornado that hit the town northwest of Ann Arbor on Thursday evening was packing winds around 135 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist Steven Freitag said.

An Indian worker spins thread for use in making carpets at a factory on the outskirts of Jammu. Carpet weaving is believed to have been brought to India by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th century. A recent economic survey says the country is losing steam in its traditional area of labor-intensive exports like textiles and carpets.

The artist and filmmaker Elodie Pong, born in the U.S. and living in Switzerland, explains her video "After the Empire" during a media preview prior to the exhibition "Around Life's Central Park" in the City Museum. The epic features iconic figures from political and pop cultural history such as Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx and Elvis Presley.

A Filipino boy is caught in the midst of a clash between protesters and police. Demonstrators critical of the government for allegedly failing to put a stop to fuel price increases in the country tried to block traffic along a main road, prompting police intervention.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich departs his Chicago home for Littleton, Colo., to begin his 14-year prison sentence on corruption charges. The 55-year-old Democrat becomes the second consecutive Illinois governor to go to prison for corruption.

Thousands of Egyptian fans of Al-Ahly football club chant during a march to demand justice for the dozens of comrades killed in stadium violence last month. Egypt's prosecutor general referred 75 people to criminal court in connection with the football riots that left more than 70 people dead.

Animal care workers try to catch a Przewalski wild horse in the Hortobagy National Park. Four such horses will be taken to west Mongolia as part of long-running efforts by Prague Zoo to help preserve the Przewalski breed.

Buildings on Miami Beach are seen through an underwater camera in the ocean. Reports indicate that Miami-Dade County in the future could be one of the most susceptible places when it comes to rising water levels due to global warming.

A severely malnourished 5-month-old, Rosalina Sousa, is given medical attention at Dili National Hospital during a recent outbreak of dengue. The outbreak, which began in January, has claimed 11 lives.

A visitor browses a book in front of a giant bookshelf at the Leipzig Book Fair. From March 15 to 18, more than 2,000 exhibitors from 44 countries will present their products from the publishing and media sector.

A young girl looks out from behind a school fence with tributes attached. Belgium is preparing to fly back the bodies of 22 schoolchildren and six adults who died when a bus bringing them back from a ski trip slammed into a tunnel wall in Switzerland.

Supporters of presidential candidate Francisco Guterres listen during a campaign rally in the East Timor capital. Voters on Saturday will participate in only the third election to be held since the country was officially recognized as independent in 2002.

Rescue workers attempt to lift the wreckage of a ferry that sank in the Meghna River Tuesday just sought of the capital, Dhaka. The ferry, carrying about 200 people, collided with a cargo boat and sank in the early-morning darkness, sending hundreds of people into the water. At least 110 were reported dead.

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron greet guests -- including a contingent of schoolchildren -- during an official arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. Cameron, who is on a three-day U.S. visit, was expected to hold discussions with Obama about Afghanistan, Syria and Iran.

Ultra Orthodox Jewish men crowd around the casket of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hagar at the funeral for the longtime leader of the Vishnitz sect, who died at the age of 94. The Vishnitzers are one of the largest Hasidic communities in Israel.

Palestinian firefighters silhouetted against a backdrop of flames and smoke extinguish a fire after an Israeli airstrike. Israel and militants in Gaza began observing an Egyptian-brokered truce on March 13, after four days of violence, which officials on both sides warned could flare up again.

Passengers wait for a train to arrive in a time-lapse image. India's railway minister recently announced that he aims to reduce deaths on the accident-plagued system to zero. An official report said 25,705 people died on India's railways in 2009, the latest year for which figures are available.

U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn arrives at the finish area after winning the season's last women's downhill race at the Alpine ski World Cup finals. Vonn clinched her fourth overall title last week and her fifth consecutive downhill title last month.

Noori, reportedly the world's first cloned pashmina goat, makes her public debut at a Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology breeding facility. Pashmina goats are prized for their fine wool.

Rescuers recover the body of a victim of a ferry accident on the banks of the Meghna River. A ferry packed with about 200 people capsized in the river in southern Bangladesh, killing more than 30 people and leaving dozens more missing, authorities said.

Hundreds of Syrians, some holding up the Kurdish flag, take part in a protest. Syrian police opened fire on the Kurdish protesters who flooded this northeastern city to mark the eighth anniversary of deadly clashes with security forces, a watchdog said. Eight years ago on March 12, 2004, clashes between Kurds and members of Arab tribes backed by Syrian security forces in Qamishli killed 40 people.

A Palestinian fires in the air during the funeral of an Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza City. Israel halted its airstrikes against Gaza Strip militants early Tuesday and rocket fire from the Palestinian territory ebbed as a cease-fire ending four days of clashes appeared to be taking effect.

Demonstrators chant anti-U.S. slogans as they carry a red cross following Sunday's killing of civilians in Panjwai by a U.S. soldier. Hundreds of students in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday shouted angry slogans against the United States and the American soldier accused of carrying out the killings, the first significant protest in response to the tragedy.

An activist from Free Burma Coalition-Philippines raises his fists with mock chain during a protest in front of the Myanmar embassy, urging the Myanmar government to release all political prisoners and repeal all repressive laws ahead of its by-elections on April 1.

A Portland Timbers fan covers his face against the green smoke set off every time the Timbers score during the second half of their MLS soccer game against the Philadelphia Union. Portland beat Philadelphia 3-1.

Members of Youth Against Corruption and student union Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad protest against corruption. The protesters were demanding that the home minister P. Chidambaram be sent to court over the 2G telecom scandal that is believed to have cost the treasury up to $39 billion.

An exiled Tibetan woman holds a representation of a Tibetan flag during a protest to commemorate the Tibetan Women's Uprising Day. On March 12, 1959, thousands of women gathered in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa to protest against the Chinese government but the protest was put down.

Police stand guard as Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters shout slogans during a rally outside their party headquarters in Dhaka. Tens of thousands of people joined an opposition rally in Bangladesh's capital to demand that a nonpartisan caretaker government oversee the next general election.

A Palestinian boy walks through the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike. Israeli airstrikes killed two Palestinian militants and a schoolboy in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rocket squads barraged southern Israel in escalating fighting that has defied international truce efforts.

Paramilitary policemen change guard in Tiananmen Square during the National People's Congress. The 2012 session is the last before a handover of power that begins later this year, and leaders are anxious to ensure the world's second-largest economy grows at a steady pace while keeping a lid on social unrest.

Serbian citizens pay their respects at the grave of slain Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic at Belgrade's new cemetery on the anniversary of his 2003 assassination. Djindjic was the Balkan country's first democratically elected prime minister.

A woman presents a costume created by Hungarian costume designer Rita Velich for "Arabella," an opera by late Austrian composer Richard Strauss, in the Karoly Lotz Hall of the Hungarian State Opera during a fashion show. The premiere, directed by Hungarian Geza Beremenyi, will be be held Saturday.

The Week in Pictures | March 12 – 18, 2012

In the Middle East, a marathon runner carries a Palestinian and Israeli flag as well as a white flag with a peace symbol as he enters the Zion Gate during the Jerusalem Marathon. While in the nearby West Bank, an Israeli army dog attacks a Palestinian protester during a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum. We also have opposing images from Syria, where a rally in support of President Bashar Assad on the first anniversary of the anti-regime revolt stands in stark contrast to an image of Syrian refugees going about their daily lives at the Reyhanli refugee camp in Antakya, Turkey. About 1,000 Syrian refugees, including a defecting general, crossed into Turkey in the last 24 hours.

Stateside, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich departs his Chicago home for Littleton, Colo., to begin his 14-year prison sentence on corruption charges. The 55-year-old Democrat becomes the second consecutive Illinois governor to go to prison for corruption. There was severe damage in Michigan after a tornado with wind speeds of 135 mph touched down near Ann Arbor and residents took cover from the rain as they listen to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speak at the Whistle Stop cafe in Alabama.

On the European continent, children from a primary school in Belgium form a circle around a heart drawn with chalk during a minute of silence in Lommel for the victims of the March 13 bus crash in southern Switzerland; Prime Minister Mario Monti’s planned overhaul of the Italian labor market will include a revision of firing rules and an expansion of jobless benefits; and a preview of the exhibition ‘Around Lifeís Central Park’ in the City Museum in Jena, Germany.

Elsewhere, a Turkish military helicopter crashed into a house near the Afghan capital Friday, killing several Turkish soldiers on board and young girls on the ground; Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers captured an incredible image of the Southern Lights between Antarctica and Australia from the International Space Station; and rescue workers attempt to lift the wreckage of a ferry that sank in the Meghna River after colliding with a cargo boat – killing more than 100 in Bangladesh.